Guardian Duty
by NymphadoraMoony
Summary: One Shot. Post Last Sacrifice.


**Disclaimer: I don't own VA Characters**

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Great, she could beat the walls if she dared. Nobody would care. Nothing would happen. She'll still be out here, in the cold, freezing her butt off. The shifts have been hectic since Lissa received a threatening letter anonymously. She thought at first this will be a Strigoi issue and that Lissa needed to be protected with twice as much guardians. She looked into, by the end nothing ever happened like it said in the letter she concluded it was just someone's idea of a sick prank. Nothing else. She relayed this to the guardians but they wouldn't take her word for it and now she's stuck here guarding outside at the back of court. She should be with Lissa right now but the guardians think she's not taking her job seriously therefore aren't letting her anywhere near Lissa. She debated worming her way inside. She turned to her Russian boyfriend.

"Comrade,"

Dimitri glanced at her, brushing aside his black hair that fell into his face. "Yes Roza."

"When is our next break? I'm starving," she said. Any way to get out of this she'll do it. Hell, she'll even crawl. There is no Strigoi. The guardians are all paranoid.

"Roza," his eyes flickered to the 70s watch he wore on his wrist, it wasn't really, but she likes to tease him about it. The air fogged as he breathed out heavily and gazed back at her, "Our break finished five minutes ago."

Her face crumpled, "but this is so unfair. Can't someone else take my shift? I've been up for two nights and barely got enough sleep."

Okay she was exaggerating, maybe a little bit but she needed to do all she could to go see Lissa. She _did _get sleep but no more than she would've liked. That was her fault. She didn't get the chance to hang out with Lissa. So after doing a shift outside she went to see Lissa and check if the guardians were treating her okay, although it wouldn't have been possible if Mikhail hadn't helped. Lissa will be okay with them protecting her. She even had Christian to throw fire balls if anything happened so she wasn't as worried as she ought to be. She trusted them both to keep her safe. Mikhail is a dedicated guardian. Nothing could go _wrong_. Besides, there _are _other guardians. They don't need _me_.

"Roza," dark circles were visible under his eyes and his shoulders looked strained from how close he constrained them. He's as tired as she is so why is he determined to cover it, "this is what we train for." He tried to infuse steel into his voice but failed miserably. "I know you enjoy your time guarding because you always find countless ways to evade the guardians so that you can take the shift. You've been doing it for the past two months," he arched a sceptical brow, "what's the problem now."

She stared at him, "that was before I thought Strigoi were going to attack court," she grumbled, kicking dirt on the ground. Pointless now.

Dimitri shook his head slowly and turned back to scanning the perimeter. End of discussion. She sighed and trained her eyes to on the trees ahead. It was easy for him to say. He wasn't the one who would get chewed out for not appearing. Hans will have her ass if she so much as missed one shift. It felt like he was punishing her for her past deeds. Supposed he was. With everything that happened with Victor she wasn't surprised. She closed her eyes. She hadn't meant to kill him. The darkness had got to her. Shaking her head she focused her mind onto something of importance.

The rustle of leaves caught her attention. She tensed. Listening. Waiting. Silence.

Another rustle. _Meow!_ At the sudden noise she back-peddled and slammed her back into the wall. Just the cat. She heard a noise again but something else this time. _Grrrrr!_ What is that? She opened her mouth to tell Dimitri but thought better of it. Could be nothing for all she knew.

"Couldn't hurt," she whispered to herself.

It was dark. The faint glow of the lamp was the only light that permitted her to see passed the tangled roots, which stuck out from the ground, looping its way round the bark of the tree, thinning steadily. The bark was a tall, spherical cylinder, as still as a statue; frozen in amidst, like a complicated maze. Branches snagged onto each other creaking and whining. She took a step forward. Something squelched under her boot. She backtracked. A dead squirrel. Ugh! Her throat closed and her stomach twisted. Dry blood smeared the ground. She recoiled from the acrid smell and turned away. Man, she did not want to be reminded of her horrid days back at the academy. She took another route, skirting around the squirrel.

The trees loomed, threatening to stamp her out. A chill spread across her legs. Something was coming. She could feel it. Nothing felt right. A gale of wind ruffled the high deep grass. _Whip, whip, whip. _Startled, she whirled around; the flap of wings stopped her from shouting out. Her heart beat slowed which trembled a moment ago as the owl flew past. She shuffled onward carefully avoiding thorns and clearing her path through the thicket of trees. She hadn't gotten too far when a scream pierced through the quiet night. She froze. Her heart pounded in her ears. She sprinted back the way she came. When she reached there she would've died there and then. Boy was she wrong about that letter. Strigoi. A horde of them, all aligned in a triangle and she was in the midst of it all. A dozen red eyes stared at her. Dimitri was nowhere to be seen. She was so dead. Where was he?


End file.
